Saturday, February 7, 2009

New Activity

Yesterday, Connor got to enjoy some new activities.

First, I took an empty plastic jar and filled it with about 1/2 an inch of dry navy beans and put the cap back on. Then I gave him a bowl and some measuring cups. He spent about 20 minutes unscrewing the cap and transferring the beans from jar to bowl and back again. He would use the measuring cups to scoop some out of the bowl and put them back in the jar. We stopped when he tried to eat the beans. They're edible, but not great when they're dry. The activity helps expose him to a new texture and practice his fine motor skills.

We also drew for a bit using colored pencils. They're narrower and longer than the crayons he usually uses, so it provided more of a challenge to hold. Again, this works on fine motor skills, and stimulates his creativity. His drawings have started to be more purposeful, more straight lines and circles, less random.

We've also been working on up and down. He loves to to jump up in the air, even though he only gets about an inch of the ground. Luckily though he hasn't quite gotten brave enough to jump off things. He prefers to climb them right now.

Next week we're going to work on the alphabet and dressing himself. He's good at taking off his sweaters or jackets, but he hasn't quite gotten anything else. Although he is very good at putting his socks on his hands.